Hi all, I have a hoya shepardii, is this the name? Anyways, it hasn't seemed to grow since I got it like 9 months ago. It has long woody stems and the same leaves it had on it when I got it. It doesn't seem to be dead, just relaxing, or a very long nap. Any suggestions on what I should do. Also my kerrii's stems seem to be turning to dead wood. Do I cut them off where they seem to be dying? Heather
Shepardii not growing
The hoyas in question are both in 4in pots. I am fairly certain they are rootbound. The thing I am uncertain of is the woody stems. Aren't some hoyas supposed to have them to produce flowers? I need to figure out how I can post some pictures of them. That would help. Thank you Ceedub. Heather
Hi, Heather. My experience is that when a hoya starts from a very woody stem, it may take ages to put on any growth...and difficult to root at best. I did have a H. megalaster cutting that was from old wood and it took 5-6 months to put out any new growth at all...and it is s l o w at best. Have you checked the roots? Are they healthy? Sometimes they just take their own sweet time on their own sweet schedule!! If your H. kerrii has stems that seem squishy when you squeeze them, they are rotting.... You might try unpotting it and checking the roots...cutting up the rooted stem until you have healthy roots or just a healthy stem.
Actually, I find that my hoyas bloom on new growth, not the old wood...and those pesky long vines they love to put out to grab you are usually where the flowers would come from.
Hope this helps...
Changing the soil may help it may give it a jump start , or you may just want to give it a steady diet of liquid food, very diluted. My plants are all growing crazy and setting flower stalks. I can also tell when a cutting is rooted because it will put out new growth, it's a good clue and I don't need to dump the plant up side down. I mist my plant every other day with Eleanor's F11 and water it once a week with the stuff, I noticed growth within few days. Rememer some species like a pinch of agr. lime.
Save the rainwater and use at room temperature. It loves rain water. I forgot one more very important trick, mist, mist, mist, three times a day.
Eleanor's F11 at 1800 711-8585 she has sent out free samples before I don't know if she is still doing it. She is a very nice person. Give it a try. Norma
How do I add lime to the soil? Also I have been trying out my own soil mix. I use chunky peat, perlite, and fine fir bark. Should I add anything to this? Or should I be watering it more? I am definitely not getting the sun I did in the summer. Are the gro bulbs you can buy at Wal-Mart enough light for them. They are labeled, plant lights. Now if I take the plant out of the nursery mix, I just shake off the old soil and pot it in my mixture correct? Thank you! Heather
Hello Heather,
it could be very normal for your Hoya shepherdii to be sitting there. I would start fertilizing it sometime around feb. -march and give it more sunlight (you can start giving it sunlight even now). If it's green, then it's not dead, so no need to worry. If you repot now, make sure you don't disturb the roots too much.
Also, can you explain why you're adding lime, peat, perlite and bark? It seems that you're making a dynamite soil! Most of us use a bit of this and that that we mis into a 'normal' soil mix. If Lesli is around she might give her secret ;-)
Your problem is not the woody part, all dicots except annuals have wood. Having a woody stem has nothing to do with putting out new growth. Trees have wood but they still grow and flowers, etc. If you have old peduncles on the wood, then the plant will /might flower on that part. But new ones will form on non-woody stems.
What do the labels say on the plant bulbs? Do they give you any information on what quality of light they're giving? (Red, Blue, White, etc). That would help a lot.
HTH
Naz
Heather, I agree with Naz. Your soil mix sounds just right to me. In a high school Horticulture class we mixed and steamed 1/3 peat, 1/3 perlite, and 1/3 real soil. It was perfect for seed starting, and growing potted and garden plants. I try to find a mix as close to that as possible! These days most companies that sell premixed potting soil use bark in place of 'real' soil.
Knowing your growing conditions, how much light, temps, and watering habits
would be helpful!
I'm guessing here, but do you grow these two Hoyas on the dry side?
One of my Hoya shepherdii plants got misplaced this summer. It had been growing and thriving in my greenhouse. I brought it to my porch for repotting.
While my 2 yr old grandson was here, it got shoved under a table.
I found it the other day BONE dry, but still healthy and alive. The new vines had dryed up but other than that it looks good.
My point is, Hoyas will survive if treated like succulents, but will grow better when given more water. I'm not saying keeping the soil soggy at all times but water when they are almost dry.
They also LOVE to be misted! In the wild they get a natural misting from either rain or dew.
I had been too lazy to mist until my my freind made a comment that my plants needed misted more. I found these really cool pump up sprayers at Lowes,
Home Depot, WalMart and Family Dollar stores. They hold 40 oz, and have no hose, just a nozzle that can be set to mist or stream. Since I started using
these on my indoor plants I've seen alot less dying growth on the new vines!
Hope this helps!
*Lesli*
PS I use those WalMart gro lights for starting cuttings and overwintering small plants when my window space it full. (I'm assuming you mean the Gro Stick by Lights of America, for $9.99)
They work fine, not as good as good ole sun light, but they will do the job. I think it is best to have them fairly close to plants. I have mine 8-12 inches
above the plants / cuttings!
I also have gro bulbs in most of my table lamps that are close to any plants and have replaced my overhead kitchen light with a floresant gro bulb. I can't say that do help alot for sure, but they don't hurt!
I had a Hoya carnosa growing just fine on top of my refrigerator, not even close to a window (it was about 4-5 ft from the ceiling light w/ the gro bulb)
Hey thanks! The light bulbs I am talking about are the plant bulbs that you put in regular light fixtures. I only water my hoyas maybe once every ten days or so. That probably isn't enough. The temp in my house is probably around 68-70 during the winter. Very dry, so I mist them once a day. I have them very crowded in a west window, that is very obstructed by the neighbors house. I have another question on the mix, where can you find regular soil with nothing already mixed in? What did you mean by steaming the mix? I have never done that.
I agree with Lesli & Susan regarding the lights......I don't have access to a greenhouse and I live up in the rainy northwest, thats what it is this time of year anyway! .....So having the flourescent lights does wonders for all my plants...I have my bellas with some blooms starting on them and the multiflora doesn't stop blooming being under the gro-lites....when light is at a premium through the wintertime and such, its a great way to supplement for the plants....now, if we could just buy the superthrive up here in Canada at Walmart and Home Depot, there would be some progress!
Sandy
I think extra lighting does wonder for our OWN winter moral too. We have aquariums with tortoises and uromastix lizards around the house and they all light up around 6 am. I recently set up a little greenhouse for the plants with lighting also. I find that on these dark mornings it is nice and uplifting to walk around with my coffee and have all this cheery light coming on for the plants and critters.
Marcy
The class I took was actually at a vocational school, the horticulture program teaches everything that commercial growers do in their opperations. Half of my school day consisted of nothing but working with and learning about plants and florist tecniques, the other half was bookwork.
We had a huge steamer- mixer, the ingedients were dumped in and mixed and steamed at the same time.
Steaming the soil kills weed seeds, fungus and pests that may be living in the soil.
I had assumed that sterilizing the soil was common practice with distributors
of all soil mixes until the subject came up on another forum. I called Scotts and the company that distributes Majestic brand mix that Home Depot sells.
I was put on hold for a good while (not a common question for a desk clerk I guess). I was told no by both places, they do not sterilize these mixes....
This is going to sound whacky! I mist my soil mix until it's slightly damp. Then put it in a small container and microwave it until it's too hot to stick my finger into. I use a container that has a lid and holds about one gallon, then nuke it for 5 minutes.
I have read to bake it in the oven at a low temperature but, can't remember how long or any specifics.
My friends and family make fun of me for cooking my soil! LOL! BUT, I have had ALOT less problems with mold forming on top of the soil in winter and those pesky funus knats!
As far as real soil..... I was trying to mix my own for a while and got garden soil from Home Depot or Lowes. I found it was never consistant... some times it seemed very sandy, other times it was like mud....
I finally just started buying premixed soil mixes until I found one I liked.
I think the mix you are using sounds fine! If you think about it dark rich soil is mainly leaves, bark ect.... that have broken down over a looooooong time!
If you are using enough perlite to add good drainage I think you should be doing fine!
Heather...you might try watering them a bit more. The mix you make is very fast draining. When the plant is stressed by constantly going into a survival/shut down mode...it won't do a lot of growing/rooting. Your misting maybe what keeps it going. Best rule of thumb is to test the soil and if it is dry 1" down...water. Also, by the weight of the pot...it shouldn't be light. Hope all this information helps.
Thank you Lesli-Gro for such detailed information. That is exactly what I needed. I can't wait to cook up some soil for dinner. My husband will love it. Actually, it probably will taste better than some of the things I pass off as food. He,He! Now I know what those nats are from. How do you get rid of them. Carol, do you think it would be best if I added some nursery soil to my mix? Heather
Heather,
Go to one of the hydroponic stores in the Twin Cities (Midwest Hydroponics is in St. Louis Park and there is another hydroponics store on Hwy. 65 in Fridley (I think?) that is not affiliated with Midwest Hydroponics) and buy some Gnatrol. Gnatrol is BT (bacillus thuringiensis) for fungus gnats. Gnatrol is completely harmless to everything EXCEPT fungus gnats. You need to store any purchased soils outdoors or you will be bringing the fungus gnats right back onto your house. Newly purchased plants also need to be treated with the Gnatrol.
Letting the potting mix dry really well in between waterings will also help reduce the fungus gnat problem, but using the Gnatrol is easier and less damaging to your plants.
http://www.midwesthydroponics.com/products/hydro_products.asp?category=30
Wow Treelover...what a great link. I am keeping that on file!!! I don't get those fungal gnats on my hoyas...but I do on any fruit I pick from the garden...have to keep it under those little "tents". I have used BT before for something else...can't remember what it was...
Thank you Treelover3. It is nice to see a fellow Minnesotan out here. Heather
I think your soil mix sounds great, Heather...especially if you water often!!! It's a very fast draining mix and therefore doesn't get soggy...but you may be letting the plants get too dry.
Hi Carol, how much do you think I should be watering. My soil mix is curtosy of your advice. I love it, but I probably should water more. If I place them on a humidity tray, will it that be sufficient to catch the draining water? Or should I not keep them sitting above the excess drained H2O? Again, thanks. Heather
Heather...you might want to experiment in the bathtub! I don't know how big your humidity trays are... Yes...they can sit above the drained water...but not IN it. H. multiflora likes its' feet IN the water but few others do. An old refriderator rack or oven rack is good to put them on over the water,...you will have to test that one out. As for how much to water...no collection of plants can be on the same schedule...heck...I have trays of the same hoyas, started at the same time all growing in the same mix in the same place and they get dry at different rates... When the pot feels light, when the top 1" is dry...these are some of the yardsticks I use....
Hope this helps.